PUEBLO — The largest emergency food pantry for Pueblo County is in desperate need of more food donations. The Pueblo Cooperative Care Center said they have already given food to more than 50,000 people this year.
According to Executive Director of Pueblo Cooperative Care Center Stephanie Walker, food insecurity is a problem thousands of people in Pueblo are facing and it's growing.
“It is a huge problem for this community,” said Walker.
She said there has been a rise in homeless individuals, military members and middle class families needing food assistance compared to years past.
“We're starting to see not only the lower class more people coming, but also the middle class coming through. With the price of groceries going up, more and more people are needing food assistance,” said Walker.
Walker said this year, they have helped 500 new families.
“Yeah, it keeps going up and up,” said Walker.
In 2023, Pueblo Cooperative Care Center served food to nearly 40,000 people. So far in 2024, that number is already more than 50,000 people.
“Certain sites of the community don't have any food,” said Walker.
With more mouths to feed, the center needs additional food.
“Non-perishable items, you know, we need. We constantly use canned goods. Other things that people don't think about are flour, sugar, those kinds of oil, different things that they need,” Walker said.
How many food assistance programs are in Pueblo and where are they located? Members of Pueblo Food Project use the App called Plentiful. It has a map of all the food services in Pueblo, including their locations and times they're open.
“So the great thing with Plentiful is they call and follow up every month to make sure their map is accurate,” said Serena Sakkal, Co-Director of the Pueblo Food Project.
The app also shows you where blessing boxes are located. There are more than 10 blessing boxes across Pueblo County.
People drop off non-perishable items at the boxes and then others can come pick up the food for free.
Sakkal also said the demand for food is rising.
“I don't think it's an issue where there's not enough resources. I really think it's like connecting people better with those resources and helping them be able to access them,” said Sakkal.
They work with families to educate them on healthy affordable food choices.
“We got to focus on those immediate needs of, yeah, there's people who are hungry today, but then also working on those, like, deeper systems level changes that are like, okay, well, let's address why there are people who are hungry,” said Sakkal.
The Pueblo Food Project is involved in numerous parts of growing, harvesting, selling, giving and teaching people about healthy food. To get connected to all the services they provide, visit their website.
Looking to donate? Pueblo Cooperative Care Center volunteers will pick up donations from businesses, or people can drop off items Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their location on West 8th Street in Pueblo.
Pueblo School for Arts & Sciences (PSAS) is doing a community project to help nonprofit organizations feed folks who are homeless. The event aims to bring awareness to the struggles of homelessness and to teach empathy.
WATCH: The Pueblo School for Arts and Sciences hosts 29th Annual Empty Bowls Event
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CSPD investigating a shooting on the southwest side of the city Thursday morning
Police are looking for a man who shot a woman he was trying to rob as she was standing outside her home smoking a cigarette.
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